The present invention is directed to a water treatment unit for the treatment of water contained in a water bottle, such as a sport bottle, or a container for the treatment of water, such as a pitcher.
Carbon has been used extensively in water treatment for the purification of water. However, the growth of bacteria in the carbon is always a concern. Moreover, the presence of chlorine in the water shortens the life of the carbon.
Various materials have been employed in the past to pretreat the water before it is treated by the carbon to reduce the possibility of growth of bacteria and/or remove or reduce the chlorine content in the water. For example, in Heskett U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,770 it is disclosed that the use of certain finely divided metals, such as alloys of copper and zinc, may be used to pretreat water to remove chemical constituents including residual chlorine and to kill bacteria as a pretreatment prior to treatment with carbon and/or other water treatment materials. However, pretreatment of the water in a carbon water treatment unit employed in, for example a sport water bottle, is generally difficult due to the restrictions on size of the treatment unit and/or the low water pressures encountered in such units. Size presents a problem simply due to the fact that it is difficult to provide multiple treatment chambers which are of a size to contain a sufficient amount of treatment medium in such relatively small units. Water pressure presents a problem due to the fact that it may be difficult to force the water through the treatment medium which, for example, because of size restrictions presents a small cross sectional area resulting in greater pressure drops.
It would also be desirable to provide a magnetic post treatment to the water such as disclosed in Naito U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,900. However, again due to the size restrictions encountered in a water treatment unit used in, for example a sport water bottle, such post treatment is difficult to achieve.
An additional problem is presented to the use of a water treatment unit in a sport water bottle because of the need to equalize the pressure in the bottle after treated water has been discharged from the bottle. In Hughes et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,185 and Cranshaw U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,319 air passes into a sport bottle through the water filter to replace the water which has been treated and discharged from the bottle. However, because the air must pass through the filter medium, its passage is slowed and recovery of the bottle is retarded.
In the present invention a water treatment unit is provided in which the water can be pretreated before passage to a carbon block treatment medium with a loose particulate treatment medium to kill bacteria and remove chlorine and other contaminates from the water. Moreover, the water treatment unit of the present invention is also capable of post treatment of the water utilizing magnetic and other water treatments. Notwithstanding the ability to both pretreat and post treat the water in the present invention, the water treatment unit is still capable of a size which may be readily accommodated in a sport water bottle or the like and without experiencing unacceptable pressure drops across the various water treatment media either individually or collectively. And, the water treatment unit of the present invention when employed in a sport water bottle permits rapid venting of the bottle and recovery during use because the replacement air need not pass through the water treatment unit or media.
In one principal aspect of the present invention, a water treatment unit is provided for positioning in a container to treat water in the container which flows through the unit. The unit comprises an inlet for introducing water to be treated to the unit and a first chamber contains a first treatment medium, the first treatment medium comprising a substantially loose particulate medium through which the water to be treated flows in a substantially vertical direction during treatment. A second chamber contains a second treatment medium through which the water to be treated flows in a radial substantially horizontal direction during treatment, and an outlet is provided for discharging water which has been treated from the unit. The water flows from the inlet, through the first treatment medium, through the second treatment medium and from the outlet during treatment.
In another principal aspect of the present invention, the vertical flow through the first treatment unit is upward during the treatment to lift the substantially loose particulate medium.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the area of the first treatment medium is substantially less than the area of the second treatment medium.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the first treatment medium is one or more materials selected form the group consisting essentially of a metal which is preferably an alloy of copper and zinc, taicho and bakuhan.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the second treatment medium is a hollow block of carbon.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the unit includes a third chamber containing a third treatment medium through which the water to be treated flows during treatment.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the flow through the third treatment medium is also in a substantially vertical direction during treatment.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the third treatment medium includes one or more materials selected from the group consisting essentially of a magnet, magnetizable particles, a filter, quartz particles, ceramic particles, taicho particles and bakuhan particles.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, a water bottle defines the container for holding the water to be treated and contains the aforementioned water treatment unit. The water bottle includes a bottom, and a top having a discharge for discharging the water from the bottle. The water treatment unit is located adjacent the bottom of the water bottle, and a conduit connects the outlet of the unit to the discharge of the water bottle, whereby water in the water bottle during treatment flows in sequence into the inlet of the unit, through the first, second and third water treatment media, through the outlet of the unit, through the conduit, and is discharged from the discharge of the water bottle.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, a water bottle defines the container for holding the water to be treated and contains the aforementioned water treatment unit. The water bottle includes a bottom, and a top having a discharge for discharging the water from the bottle. The water treatment unit is located adjacent the top of the water bottle whereby the water in the water bottle during treatment flows in sequence into the inlet of the unit, through the first, second and third water treatment media, through the outlet of the unit, and is discharged from the discharge of the water bottle.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, an air vent is positioned adjacent the top of the water bottle to equalize the pressure of the water in the bottle during treatment and bypassing the media.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, a container for the treatment of water contains the aforementioned water treatment unit. The container includes an untreated water storage chamber to which the inlet of the treatment unit communicates, a treated water storage chamber to which the outlet of the treatment unit communicates, and a discharge for discharging the treated water from the treated water storage chamber.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood upon consideration of the following detailed description.